OLD TOM MORRIS ~ A GOLFING TITAN

Some 200 years on from the birth of ‘Old’ Tom Morris, we reflect on the long life of a man instrumental in shaping golf as we know it

- FERGUS BISSET

June 16, 2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the most iconic figures in the history of golf. ‘Old’ Tom Morris was a champion golfer and a pioneer in course design and of greenkeeping practices. His fame brought golf into the public eye. Framed by cap and beard, his face remains one of the most recognisable in our sport.

The year 1821 was a seminal one in the history of golf in St Andrews. It was the year James Cheape of Strathtyrum purchased the links for the golfers to prevent rabbit farmers taking over. And, on June 16, Tom Morris was born in a weaver’s cottage at the links-end of North Street.

From the outset, golf was a feature in Tom’s life. He was christened ‘Thomas Mitchell’ by a golfing minister from Perth, the Reverend Dr Buist, and was soon swinging a club. “I wad be driving a stane wi’ a bit o’ stick as sune’s I could walk,” he later recalled.

School was a relatively brief affair for Tom, and little is known of what he did between leaving in 1831 and going to work with master ball-maker and caddie Allan Robertson towards the end of the 1830s.

Tom was taken on as an apprentice by Robertson, who taught him to make a ‘feathery’ and also how to play the game of golf on the links. He spent four years as an apprentice before becoming a journeyman, making balls for Robertson, caddying, playing matches and all the while improving at the game. By 1842, he was a rival to his supposedly unbeatable mentor.

Successes on the links